Mike Scott has been banned from involvement in rugby for life after admitting providing false and misleading information to the Rugby Football Union and acting unlawfully when he was London Welsh's rugby manager earlier this season.

The severe punishment, which will not be reviewed for a minimum of 10 years if Scott waives his right to appeal, was handed out by the RFU's chief disciplinary officer, Jeff Blackett, one day after London Welsh were docked 10 league points, half suspended until the end of next season, and fined £15,000 because of Scott's repeated attempts to pass off the New Zealand-born scrum-half Tyson Keats as England-qualified through forged documents and lies. The club have said they will appeal against their punishment.

Scott became rugby manager at London Welsh after an approach in August, after working with Saracens and Harlequins, and was regarded as an experienced and competent rugby administrator. He had been told to attend a personal hearing to answer a charge of bringing the game into disrepute but asked Blackett to deal with the case through documentary evidence, saying that he accepted the allegation against him in full.

The details of the charge were that he falsely stated in a telephone call to the RFU that Keats had been born in Christchurch, England, and that his family emigrated when he was two; that he submitted a forged UK passport to the Union in the name of Tyson Keats; and that he also misled the London Welsh management, leading to the scrum-half, who knew nothing of the deception, making 10 Premiership appearances when he was not properly or, in the case of the first nine, lawfully registered and was therefore ineligible.

Scott received a simple caution from the police for an offence under the Fraud Act last month after they were asked to investigate by the club. He left London Welsh in December after the deception became impossible to conceal and his health suffered.

Blackett noted in his report: "Mr Scott apologised for his handling of this situation. He said that he had brought the game of rugby into disrepute and placed the players and staff of London Welsh in an invidious position which was entirely and solely of his own making. He asserted that he has let down his family, friends and colleagues throughout the game and struggles to understand how or why he took the actions he did."

Blackett said the deception was not preconceived, with Scott citing the pressure he felt under as rugby manager. He made the application for Keats's ancestry visa before the start of the season but, a stranger to the process, did not submit all the necessary documents and it was rejected, leaving Keats an overseas player without a work permit.

"Mr Scott is embarrassed and ashamed," said Blackett, who added Scott himself had stated he should never work in rugby union for the rest of his life. "This is a very sad case in which a respected administrator has acted completely out of character thereby bringing discredit to himself and the club he represented.

"I accept he would have been under greater pressure than normal for a team manager because London Welsh's promotion to the Premiership was delayed, but that does not excuse actions that individually and collectively amount to gross misconduct and, in relation to providing false information and forged documents, to criminal behaviour. There is no place in the game for this."

Scott's ban means he cannot play any role in a rugby club, although he is not barred from paying to watch a match, and he may not apply to the RFU to review the sanction, if he does not appeal against it, until March 2023.

It is the second time Blackett has handed out a life ban. The first occasion was in 2007 when he chaired the disciplinary panel convened after the Toulouse forward Trevor Brennan left the field during a Heineken Cup match against Ulster and attacked a visiting supporter in the stand. The suspension was reduced to five years on appeal.

London Welsh have announced their intention to appeal against the points deduction, which drops them to the foot of the Premiership, and it is likely to be heard next Thursday. They run the risk of the punishment being made more severe.